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Google Maps "Bicycling" Option Raises Many Problems

Today, at the National Bike Summit, Google announced that it had finally released its long-awaited "Bike There" option for its Google Maps product. Now, cyclists in large cities all over America (including Columbus) have the ability to find the best bike route to their destinations.
A company the size of Google taking bicycling seriously enough to create a product focusing specifically on the world's most efficient form of transportation is huge. And, as many folks on Twitter, Facebook, etc. have mentioned, it's great for discovering new bike paths and lanes in your community, as well as routes to those paths and lanes.
Except...
I understand what Google's trying to do here. And I truly appreciate the effort. But here's my dilemma with the effort:
Not everyone agrees on what is or should be considered bicycle-friendly.
I ran my route to work through the new option. A simple ride down High Street, which is my current route, is about 5.5 miles. To take the route that Google picked for me, which took me NORTH to get to access to the bike path instead of south toward my destination, would be 8.1 miles. And I don't think my route is any more or less safe than any other.
Looking at the map itself, it labels the paths that it considers safe with a green stripe. If you focus on OSU's campus, for example, you'll see a bunch of green lines criss-crossing the Oval. However, the OSU Department of Public Safety states on its website that cycling on sidewalks on campus is not permitted. I quote:

University traffic rules also require that bicycles not be ridden on sidewalks even when a short cut across the Oval is desired.

So Google is suggesting that riders ride illegally on Ohio State's campus. That's hardly safe or bicycle-friendly for pedestrians or riders.
And High Street, which is marked with Share the Road signs and is the future site of an official Sharrow, isn't listed as a bike-friendly route at all.
I am still giving this product a once-over, but I have to admit that I'm as disappointed in the beta as I thought I'd be. I realize that it's a work in progress, naturally, and I urge all users to send their opinions and thoughts to Google to make this product usable by all cyclists. People, not speed.

Comments

The information is only as good as what they have been told. Since the LAB is working with Google on this, it would be great if someone could get them in touch with the keeper of the bicycle data at MORPC used to build the Columbus bike map.

So true, tcristy. As much as I love the LAB (League of American Bicyclists, for those of you who don't know the acronym), they do have a narrow view of what should be considered bike friendly sometimes (my opinion only). Of course, the MORPC bike-friendly Columbus map is open to debate as well. There's really no one who is "the source" for what is bike-friendly. MORPC does probably come closer to being the case more than anyone else locally, though.

And yes, our input to Google as bicyclists has to be frequent and complete, otherwise nothing will be improved. Hence my final comments in the post.

The Dispatch report that Columbus Rides Bikes shared on Facebook today is entitled "More crashes come with more bicycle traffic on dedicated lanes," and discusses the new lanes and the number of accidents that have happened there. None of these accidents/crashes has been fatal.

So... you can read the article and get the statistics. Here's a summary of them, though, with a quote from the article:
...the number of crashes has jumped. Between 2012 and 2015, there were five crashes involving bicycles on Summit between Hudson and East 5th Avenue.…

In a move that has left quite a few people stranded in Columbus, the ride-sharing company Car2Go has announced today that they're pulling out of the local market as of May 31.

car2go is saddened to announce that we have made the difficult decision to suspend our operations in Columbus as of May 31. Read why here: https://t.co/gRSibUhotB
— car2go Columbus (@car2goColumbus) May 24, 2018
This has got me more than a little pissed off and very inconvenienced.

There's no doubt - Car2Go improved the quality of my family's life for the past few years while they were active in town. As a one-car family where I rode my bike and took the bus most days, Car2Go filled in the gap nicely when we needed that extra set of wheels to get ourselves places.

Here's the news they sent out via their website today:

HELLO,
We’re writing to let you know that after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue car2go service in Columbus, effective May 31, 2018.
In 201…

Yes, the City of Columbus has an iPhone app. And an Android App, if you're so inclined.

It's actually been out for a couple of years now, and it gives locations of city services and the like. I've not mentioned the thing here on Carless Columbus in the past because, frankly, I haven't found it all that useful (and if the features I'm talking about have actually been part of the app in the past, I apologize, I just discovered them recently).

But, I'm happy to say that's changed. The app now has a link to the Columbus 311 service line where you can file service requests with the city to get things fixed! This includes issues like potholes, requesting bike racks, and a multitude of other issues (not all bike- or even traffic-related). So you need never worry about forgetting to file a request to have a pothole fixed again - just pull over (PLEASE) and file your claim as you find the pothole in question, or see a great spot for a bike rack, or whatever.…